Any dispassionate and objective observer of India would have surely noted the decline of India's public institutions, both constitutional and statutory, over the last decade. I speak here not of their performance (though that too is a matter of concern in many cases), but of their waning independence, increasing politicisation, non-adherence to their mandate, lack of accountability and sensitivity to public concerns. And at the top of the list of such bodies is the Police, more particularly in the north Indian states, the Hindi heartland or the cow belt, which now also includes Assam, Bengal and Odisha, unfortunately.
This has to be a matter of particular concern for all law abiding citizens, because no other institution touches the public more directly than the civil police: it is the first port of call for any citizen coming in contact with the law, it has the power of using sovereign physical violence, it can deprive one of personal freedom, it can enmesh anyone in years of legal troubles.
The police is today the primary agency through which this government functions, because this regime does not believe in democratic institutions or practices- consultation, advice, dialogue, persuasion or public perception; the only medium of administration it knows is FORCE. Therefore it has to rely on the police, and that is where the deterioration begins. A uniformed force committing transgressions and excesses on behalf of the government soon becomes immune to the rule of law, and functions like a law unto itself. It turns rogue and becomes as unaccountable to the government as the latter has become to the people. The two develop a parabiotic relationship, one to stay on in power, and the other to exercise its now unfettered power for its own agrandizement. This is what has happened to the Indian police over the last decade or so, especially in some of the northern states. Encounter killings, custodial torture and even deaths, indiscriminate arrests, demolitions, forcible evictions, illegal deportations, voter suppression, selective prosecution, mentoring of criminals, excessive use of force (the July Jantar Mantar protests)- all these have become the norm now. Jama Milia, Kathua, Hathras, Lakhimpur Kheri do not make news anymore.
The Indian police had never really lost its khaki, colonial tinge, but its retrogression under the present governments, both central and states, has been rapid and alarming. There are three clear indicators of this.
One, excessive use of force and curbing of civil liberties and rights, often beyond the mandate of law, without any accountability. Examples of this are the brutal use of force on protesting youth on 20th July this year in Delhi and Bihar, the large scale registration of cases and arrests in the NE Delhi riots in February 2020, most of which have failed to stand judicial scrutiny subsequently, physical persecution and prosecution of those who protest against environmentally destructive projects such as bauxite mining in Niyamgiri in Odisha or the Siang HEP in Arunachal. Encounter killings have become the norm in some states: according to official NHRC data, in six years from 2016 to 2022, there were 813 encounter deaths but no conviction of any police official. Custodial ( judicial and police) deaths also occur in frightening numbers: once again, NHRC figures show 1606 such deaths in the year 2021-22, while the MOS (Home) informed Parliament on 26th July, 2022 that there were 4484 such deaths in the two year period of 2021 and 2022. "Bulldozer justice", demolitions of religious structures and houses of suspects and accused, arbitrary imposition of NSA and UAPA, arrest for alleged "conversions", forcible deportations- all these have become a sickening and daily reality, notwithstanding repeated warnings and strictures by the courts.
Which brings us to the second indicator of the deterioration of the police forces: contempt for judicial orders and judgments. The most recent example of this was the ignoring of even Supreme Court orders during the Delhi protests: in spite of clear directions from the court, the Delhi police continued to detain lawyers and journalists, shut down Metro stations and roads, obstruct the peaceful protests. (The court is now hearing a contempt case on the matter and both the Delhi Police Commissioner and Union Home Secretary have filed apology affidavits). The position is even worse in some other states where High Courts have repeatedly been passing strictures against the police. The Allahabad High Court, on November 3 this year, while accepting a habeas corpus petition, stated in an order that "Civil liberties situation in U.P is shameful: Police have little regard for citizens' rights." It went on to scathingly observe that "the infringement of these rights seems to have become a matter of routine for the UP police." Similar observations have been made by other courts from time to time but these have not deterred or restrained the police from continuing with their lawless conduct. Regrettably, the reluctance of the courts to go beyond strictures has only encouraged this growing tendency.
The third indicator, perhaps, provides the reason for this flagrant disregard of orders, laws and the misuse of authority and physical force. It is becoming increasingly evident that some sections of the police are now sympathetic to, and fully support, the Hindutva ideology of the ruling dispensation, and therefore have a personal animus towards those who do not. This explains their brutal use of force on protesters, the pellet guns and AK47s, the targeting of even women journalists, even the reported sexual manhandling of young girls at Jantar Mantar. It also explains their willing targeting of members of a particular community in myriad cases. It is difficult to believe that they would have been ordered by their superior officers to commit these selective excesses as part of their SOPs, though I would not be surprised if that was indeed the case. (It may, however, not be fair to single out the police for this dubious honour, considering that even the higher echelons of the bureaucracy, defence services, universities, and judiciary seem to have espoused the ruling ideology.)
Further- let us admit it- the police as an institution is dominated by the upper castes. Even though affirmative action by various govts has improved the representation of Backward castes, Dalits and Scheduled Tribes, at 51% their share is still far below their 67% share in the general population. The misogyny in our police forces is explained by the fact that the share of women is only 10% against their 48% share in the general population. Muslims account for only 4% (excluding Jammu and Kashmir) though they are 14.2 % of the general population (2011 census). These are precisely the sections of society for which the ruling ideology does not give a tinker's curse.
These figures go some way in explaining why a certain ideology is gaining traction in the police and dictating their actions. India is a highly divided society, the personnel of the police emerge from this society and carry their biases and prejudices with them. When these negative influences are further given free play (if not encouraged) by the political executive, the result is what has been described by the Allahabad High Court and quoted verbatim in para 6 above. The cost is paid by the average Indian citizen and society as a whole in the quality of governance and state of the justice system.
The greater danger, however, lies in the future, in the question: when the good times, and the equitable rule of law, return, will the police shed these decomposition of values, the increasing malfeasance, perversion of their mandate ? Or have these become so embedded in their psyche that they will be impossible to dislodge? Even more disturbing: will succeeding governments, even though of different persuasions and dogmas , even be interested in reforming the police? For power is a communicable disease, and the virus needs little time to spread from one host to another.
Such articles are long overdue. Calling a spade, a bloody spade. The Question remains, are these likely to have ANY EFFECT on the Ruling Classes given the prevailing State of Education and insensitivity? I
ReplyDeleteIt is not just the Police, which has become the most feared arm of the Government, but several institutions that the hapless citizenry runs into, trying to exist with a modicum of dignity. There is a very old saying that warns people of staying away from the Police, Courts and Lawyers! The list has undoubtedly grown over time.
Today getting entangled with any arm of the government is a risky affair. Which is why people rush to look for ‘contacts’ whether it’s passport renewal, applying for a Ration card and almost everything else that needs to be teased out ( often with illegal gratification) of the All and Mighty government!
The observation that regime change is unlikely to change much is most insightful making one wonder at the limitations of democracy.
So well conveyed.
ReplyDeleteThe khaki clad force in cahoots with the khaki trousered (shorts having been dispensed with so as to hide their ugly knobbly knees and ‘Gandhi’ legs) lumpen elements and goondas are a menace to the society which the former have sworn, on the constitution if you please, to protect.
While there is absolutely no argument with the points you make, as one who has grown up in their midst, is what the current dispensation has done to the armed forces. Makes me, in turn, want to hang my head in shame and to then to cry. While not overtly visible, the ominous signs are there – saffron lurking inside that uniform which was once a secular symbol of pride.